Method of training grapevines



Filed Jan. 25. 1951 2. Sheets-Sheet l- Sept. 6, 1932 J. ClRRlTo 1,875,561

METHOD 0F TRAINING GRAPEVINES Filed Jan. 255, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept 6, 1932 v'urlare STATES PariiiNr `OFFICE;

JOSEPH Cimarro, or ri-anserCITY,v NEW JERSEY METHOD OF TRAINING GRAPEVINES p Appiication mea January 23, 1931. sriairnmsioio. p

The present invention is an improved method of training grapevines. f

The invention aims primarily to train a vine to substantially bush or tree form in ii. order that there be a more equal distribution of the plantV juices to the fruit, greater eX- posure of the fruit and foliage to the sunight and air, greater productivity and better quality of fruit, and labor-savinoin pruning and tying the vine and in piczliing the matured fruit.

It has been noted that under present sys-1 successful primarily due tothe fact that thelower and inner arms or branches aswell as the fruit borne by them are deprived of their oroper share of sunlight, and alsobecause the number of buds on each armor branch is not sufficiently restricted.

Many of the disadvantages of the presen systems are vovercome and the objects of the present invention are obtained, broadly7 by training the main' trunk or stem of .the vine vertically with a multiple series of horizontal arms or branches, the arms ineach story preferably radiating in at least four direcassumes a conical `formk or shape, and by limiting the length of the arms or branches and restricting the number of buds on each illustrate by way of example certain' steps.

of the method. In the drawings:

Fig. l is'aii elevation of a'vineV which'V has tions; by pruning or cutting se that `the vine been trainedand pruned in accordance with the present method;

Fig. 2 isa vertical section of the vine in foliage and bearing fruit and to one side of the trunk Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view` through the vine and taken substantiallyl on line 3 3 of Fig. 2; i

Fig. is a planY view of the top story of vine in foliage; A

VFigx is a plan view 'of the top story or course of the vine after pruning, the dotted lines indicating the repruned condition of the vine the succeeding'year; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the lower story or course of the vine after pruning, the dotted lines indicating the repruiied condition-of the vine the succeeding year.

In carrying the-invention into practice, the niainstem l0 of the grapevine is staked to a post l1, by any suitable means '12, so

that the stem will grow vertically as a tree trunk. If old plants are to be trained according to the 'present method, it may be found to be better to cut off the old stem to about two feet above the ground and train a cane extending therefrom or near thebase of the stem. It there is no cane two feet from the ground itmaybe necessary to graft one. f v vThe plants are planted about six feet apart in rows aboutsiX and a half-feet to seven feet. apart, the latter being preferred.V `The posts` 1l in each row are preferably about five feet siX inches in height above the ground and connected together by spaced horizontal strands of wire 13 and 13a which are to support the Y post in position vand serve as supports to which the branches of thevine may be tied.v if convenient. i

With the stem or trunk of vine staked, canes Vfrom the trunk are selected so as to form a series of stories or courses, two or more, in number, although it is preferred to provide four of such stories, a, `b, c, d. Itis aimed to provide four canes ineach story and to arrange them, by bending certain of them, to extend or 'radiate from the trunk in `four directions as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5. It is purposed that canes or arms should be as nearly at right-angles with respect to each other as is practical, but of course should there be more or less canes in each story, they should be arranged in equally spaced positions around the trunk. The canes which are bent to position are held therein by wires or cords connected with the post 11 or the trellis wires 13 andlaf, as convenient, ordesirable, until nature has set them in their posit-ions. A

The lower story a is provided about two feet above the ground, and-th other three stories about one foot apart. n

Each cane in the top story' ofcourse cl' is cut to approxi-.mately sixinches` in` lengthfrom the center of the triiili, and' theclines of succeeding lower stories orI courses are Acut to a length approximately four inches longer than the canes of the' preceding upper course, so asnto forma conica-ily shaped plant of a"v diameter of about twelve inches at the head and uppermost course and thirty-,six inches at its lowermos't course, when in pruned condition.

The extremities of the canelsof the two' lower courses or stories a and b are so selected and cut to have forledstubs 15 and'16, see Figs: 3,5 and 6,I while'the-'extremities of the canes of the two upper;r stories are not forked; but in some instancesV itis preferable to fork ail-canes in all of this stories or Courses. The' number of buds on the vine are restricted by removing all; buds except one bud v17 ne'ar the extremity of each cane 1K4v` of the upper two stories and oneV bud 18- orr each forli stub l5* and 16 of lowerV stories; from which buds,- shoots 170: and 18e' develop and blear'theecrop of the season, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and; 3. rEhe Vshoots 17 a of the two upper stories will grow as continuating'extensions of the canes" 14 and the shoots 18a of the fork stubs 15 and 16 will grow in like manner as shown particularly in Fig. 3,- with the fruit foliage all around,A exposed toV the sunshine and air, there being approximately three bunches of grapes on each shoot.

v Duestothe presentim'ethod of training and pruningfa more equal distribution of the plantjuice'sto thefuit-,beaiiiig canes is ofbtained and due tothe full exposure to the sunlight and-air' `,which all ofthe fruit and foliage receives, the'r'esultanty fruit will be mucli'larger in'size anid'b'ettei in quality as to sweetness,` flavor, `color and juice content.

Of course; it will be iinderstobd that/by the next succeeding season and by natural development, the canes 14 will become the permanent arms or branches of the vine and will-"substantially niaintain their proportionate lengths.V `fter two or three years, the plant will-have formed, having' as its'permanent body the tr'unl 10 :and the arins or branrhes 14, from the extremities only of which "canes are allowed to develop each y'ear for the seasons cropr and then' out back to the iirst'eyer or bud nearest the extremities of the branches. Now, after the fruit has matured and is ready for picking, this may be readily done with great facility as the plant is no taller than the height of the average man Vor woman and all the'fruit has grown on the cut back' to the irst eye nearest the forl stub" 15 or 16, respectively. A

Pruning willeave'tlhe plant in a condition similar to that previously described and shown in Fig. Land asv illustrated in full and dotted lines of Figs. 5 and 6.- From the eyes which have been-left on'y the canes which have beencut back, new buds or shoots will develop which will be the fri'iit-bearing shoots of the next succeeding season; and, so on,the method of pruning is repeated year after year in this manner, namely, by limitingv the shoots 'allowed toA develop to one or two' at the extremities of reach arm or branch, as will b'est permit It is important to note,l however, that in the beginning, and in the spring, the vine produces a large number of buds, all of which should be removed as soon as they grow except those which have been hereinabove specified.

After eight or ten years, according to the climate, the plant need not be tied because sustaining in avertical position and the arms or branches 14 will have become set in their radiating positions and strong enough to sustain the shoots and their fruit. Itl is preferred, as shown, not to tie up the fruitbearing shoots 17 a and 18a,- butl allow them to droop and assume a natural position. Consequently, when it is time to prune, it is not necessary to untie or to retie the plant, but only do such repair tying as may be necessary. The reduction of time, labor and cost in this operation alone is a material consideration, because in the growingof grapes', tying and priming is a major c'o'st.

Should, for any reason,- it become necessary or desirable to remove any of the arms or branches 14 or the trunk itself, this may be done by cutting the desired parts off and permiting new canes to develop for the parts removed and training them as herein iirst set ortli.

While in the specification certain dimensions have been referred to, it is to ber un; derstood that these specific dimensions are only given as an aid and by way of example and that the dimensions may be varied the sunlight to the fruit and foliage ico lthe trunk will be strong enough to be self- Y from as further experimentation, practice and convenience may indicate necessary or desirable, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, so long as the general scheme' of the method and proportions are substantially adhered to.

Obviously, by the present method the tying of grapevines is greatly reduced and the expense and labor incident thereto are greatly minimized, because once the arms or branches lll are tied, no further tying, except possible repair tying, is necessary; and, when prun# ing, time is saved because the person pruning is not required to make a selection among the branches, but need onlycut back all the canes as indicated in Figures 5 and 6.

Moreover, by the present method of training and pruning grapevines, they may be trained into a symmetrical and pleasing appearing tree or bush-likey shape, with the permanent body of the vine becoming strong and self-supporting, and greatly facilitating the work of pruning, picking and spraying, and the plant, in general, being compact, yet permitting the greatest amount of sunlight to the lower branches or fruit-bearing canes; and, further, the expenditure of time and money for priming and tying, and picking the matured fruit, is reduced to a minimum; and by restricting the number of buds ou each arm to one on the new canes at the extremities of the arms or branches, the best fruit is produced.

While the above method is described with particular reference to grapevines, it is manifest to those skilled in the art that it may be employed with equal efficiency to other vines and even to trees, and these are contemplated as being within the scope of the invention and af the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, and the method by which it may be performed, what is claimed as new and upon which it is desired to secure Letters Patent. is

l. A method for training a vine which has had the trunk stem thereof trained to a substantially vertical position and provided with a series of spaced horizontal stories each consisting of a number of branches or arms radi ating from the trunk, said method including pruning the arms and trunks to remove all canes and buds except one cane at the extremities of said branches, and cutting back said retained cane to the first eye nearest the branch.

2. A method for training a vine which has had the trunk stem thereof trained to a substantially vertical position and provided with a series of spaced horizontal extending stories each consisting of a. number of branches or arms radiating from the trunk in substantially equi-spaced relation, the extremities of certain stories being forked, said method including pruning the arms and trunks to remove all canes and buds except one cane at the extremity of each` branch or of each fork thereof,-cutting back saidl retained canes to the liirst' eye thereon nearest its respective a substantially vertical position pruning the stemV to remove all buds and canes except certain canes to provide a'vertical series of substantially horizontally spaced stories each consisting ofa number of canes, training and holding said canes of each story to radiate from the trunk in substantially equi-spaced relation and pruning said canes to produce arms or branches, and permitting but one shootto develop each vyear at the extremities of said branches, and, after fruiting, cutting back the canes formed by said shoots to the first `eye thereon nearest their respective branches. I A l f 4. -A method of` training vines which includes training ythe trunk stem of a vine to substantially vertical position; pruning the stem to remove all buds and canes except certainv canes to provide a vertical series of substantially horizontal'stories, each story consisting of approximately lfour canes, training and holding said canes of each story. to radiate from the trunk stem in substantially equi-spaced relation; pruning said canes to produce arms or branches in each succeeding story of increased length from the top, with ends of the branches of certain stories forked; and permitting only one shoot to develop each year at the ends of said branches only, or on each one of its forks; and, after l fruiting, cutting back the canes formed by said shoots'to the first eye thereon nearest their respectivev branches or forked stubs thereof. Y

5. A method for training and pruning vines including training the trunk stem of the vine to a substantially vertical position, pruning and training lateral canes projecting from the stem to form horizontally extending arms or branches arranged in a space-d vertical series ofA stories; bending, and holding until set, said vlateral canes in each story so as to be substantially equi-distantly apart around the trunk and pruning said canes so as torender the arms or branches in each succeeding upper story from the lowermost story of `progressively decreasing lengt-hs; pruning the branches and trunk so as to remove all canes and buds'except one cane at the end of each branch or fork thereof; `and cutting back these canes, and the canes which will develop therefrom each succeedingyear, to the first eye adjacent the extremities of said branches.

6. A method for training and pruning vines including training the trunk stem of the vine to a substantially vertical position and maintaining the same at a height approximately five feet; pruning and training lateral canes proj'ectingfroni the stem to form horizontallyfextending arms or branches arranged in a spaced' vertical series of stories Withthe lowerniost story approximately vt-'Wo feet from 5 the ground andthe succeeding upper stories approximately one foot apart; bending, and holding until set, said lateral canes in each story so as to be substantially equi-distantly apart around' the trunk; pruning said canes so as to produce arms or branchesV in the uppermost story of approximately six inches in length and the other stories progressively increasing in length by about four to sixV inches, and kso that the 'branches inthe ytwo lower Istories :atleast Will be forked; pruning the branches and trunk so as to removev all canes and buds except one cane atthe end of each branch or fork thereof; and cutting backfthese canes, andthe canes Which Will 2G develop therefrom each succeeding year', to

therfirst eye adjacent' the extremities of said Y branches. Y l

7 A method fortraining vines including training to substantially vertical position the trunkl stern, or cane which Will form the trunk; pruning said trunk to provide a series of superposed spaced stories with each story comprising three or more substantially horinontally extending canesgpbending certain of 80 said canes in each story to substantially equispaced radiating position and holding them untilnature sets them in that position; pruning the canes of said'stories so/that the cane Aof each successive upper story is of less lengthY than the preceding lower story, removing all the buds from saidcanes :and trunk exce-pt at the extremities of'said canes.

8A method for training vines including training to substantially vertical position the 40 trunk stem, or cane Which Will form the trunk; pruning said trunk to provide a series of vertical spaced. stories With each story comprising a'plurality of substantially'horizontally extending canes; bending certain o'f said canes in each story to substantially equispaced radiating position and holding them untilnature sets them inV that position, pruning-the canes of said stories so that the cane of each successive upper story is of less length than the preceding loWer story; removing all the buds; shoots or canes from said canes and trunk; except one cane developed each suc ceeding year at the extremities of said first canes or arms; and cutting back said new canes to the first eye thereon nearest the extremities of said first canes.

In testimonyfwhereof I have hereunto set myvhand.

.Y JOSEPH CIRRITO. 

